One of the best ways to create complex artwork inside of Illustrator is to…create something known as a compound path, and in this movie, I'm going to be…walking you through exactly how to do that, using some of the Pathfinder commands…here inside of Illustrator.…First thing I'm going to do is zoom in on a piece of artwork.…So I'll just grab my Zoom tool, and zoom in on this artwork in the top left corner.…Once I do that, I'm going to select both pieces of artwork.…It's actually two separate pieces: a starburst, and then the flower…pattern in the back.…Then I'm going to go up to the Window menu, and I'm going to find the Pathfinder.…

You can also bring that up by hitting Shift+Control, or Shift+Command, and the F9…key on your keyboard.…Once I bring that up, I'll move it up here in the top right corner, so I can see it.…I'm going to ignore the Shape Modes for a moment;…we'll cover those in their own movie.…For now, we're just worried about the Pathfinders.…The first option inside the Pathfinder is called Divide, and Divide is one of…

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Author

Updated

10/13/2014

Released

6/17/2013

You can accomplish a wide variety of design tasks with Adobe Illustrator. This course focuses on core concepts and techniques you can apply to workflows for print, the web, and many other destinations.

First, author Justin Seeley explains the basic elements that make up vector graphics—paths, strokes, and fills—and shows how to use each of the program's powerful drawing tools. Then he shows how to create documents and liven up a project with color, plus build complex shapes from simple paths and trace bitmap images and line art. The course also explores the benefits of using layers and symbols, and shows how to edit text, draw in perspective, and much more. The final chapter explains how to output your work in several formats and use Illustrator files in Photoshop and InDesign.

Topics include:

Understanding vector graphics

Creating documents for different contexts

Organizing artwork with rulers, guides, and grids

Making detailed selections

Resizing, rotating, and transforming objects

Creating swatches and color libraries

Working with fills and strokes

Using the Shape Builder and Image Trace features

Drawing and editing paths

Understanding the difference between point and area type

Adjusting the appearance of artwork with live effects

Printing, saving, and exporting artwork

Skill Level Beginner

8h 13m

Duration

3,118,155

Views

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Q: This course was updated on 6/18/2014. What
changed?

A: We revised chapters covering paths,
working with type, and the Pen tool. These updates reflect changes to the Pen
and Pencil tool behavior in the June 2014 update to Illustrator CC. These tools
now offer greater fidelity and previews. We also added one new video, "Packaging your artwork
for commercial print," which covers the enhanced packaging workflow.

Q: This course was updated on 10/13/2014. What changed?

A: We added tutorials to cover the most exciting changes to Illustrator
CC 2014: the Join and Curvature tools and the all-new Design Libraries. These
new movies are marked with the "(CC 2014.1)" tag.